A letter from the editor
GAVIN PUGH
Editor-in-Chief
Dear Reader,
As you flip through these pages, you will see many faces. Some
of them you may recognize: They are our fellow classmates and
faculty members. Some of them you may not recognize: They are
the people you pass on the sidewalk.
The Lariat’s goal in writing this
semester’s feature issue was not to spark
any sort of political commentary or
debate. It was not to be controversial,
ironic or feign intelligence.
Rather, as we began crafting this
paper, we wanted to highlight the
diversity of the city that surrounds us.
Mingling in and around the so-called
Baylor bubble, we have found there to
be people with incredible stories. Some
of them come from half way around the
Pugh
world — born in cultures many of us
Americans will never encounter. Others
come from places which are a little closer, such as Central and
Southern American countries.
For those of us who have been fortunate enough to travel, we
know how much other cultures can change our own perspectives:
whether it be how we go about our routines to how we interact

with other people on a daily basis. The lessons learned while
abroad are the types of lessons you carry with you for the rest of
your life.
I’ve been fortunate enough. My parents took me to Europe
and Central America several times before I left for college. My
fiancee is an immigrant herself, and I have lived in her home
country of Finland for months at a time.
This being said, I understand some of us haven’t had the
chance to visit a different country. Maybe money was an issue,
or internships took precedent over study abroad opportunities.
But as some of us know the impact traveling can have on
our personal perspectives, we also know we can gain that
same perspective anywhere — no matter what city, country or
continent we find ourselves in.
On the other hand, as diverse as our community has become,
we realize that we have more in common with our foreign
brothers and sisters than we previously thought.
All of us were once children. All of us wish to be loved, to feel
joy and to connect with others. All of us.
And all of us are here in Waco. Some hail from nearby cities:
Dallas, Houston or Austin. Others come from other states:
California, Colorado or Minnesota. Still others come from farther
places. And as we continue to learn more about one another, so
the gaps between us will shrink. The distances we’ve traveled to
get here become irrelevant despite how far we’ve come. The miles
shouldn’t separate us, but instead should add to our collective
whole: a million miles among us.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
It’s better when we’re together ............................. 3
Deeply rooted ....................................................... 4
Students find second home in Waco ................. 5
Waco schools support
immigrant students .......................................... 6-7
Where to stand
on holy grounds ............................................... 8-9
A different perspective ..................................... 10
Baylor Law helps
immigrants in need ........................................... 11
Serving culture one plate at a time .................... 12
Mission Waco service
offers migrants help ........................................... 13
Caribbean students
talk life in America ............................................ 14
A look across the sea .......................................... 15

Graphic by Gavin Pugh | Editor-in-Chief

A Million Miles Among Us

Monday, April 10, 2017

3

It’s better when we’re together

Better Together BU advocates for refugees,
aims to foster acceptance, diversity at Baylor
MEGAN RULE
Staff Writer
Better Together BU is a Baylor group that is all about
inclusiveness, so when the Syrian refugee crisis became a
worldwide issue, the club began to advocate for refugees and
educate the Baylor campus.
“The name is the organization because we are better together,”
said Humble senior Memona Niazi, former Better Together BU
co-leader. “That’s why the refugee crisis is a big thing. The issue
is you’re excluding people, and you’re saying, ‘We are not better
together. I am better on my own.’”
Plano sophomore Wafa Demashkiah, co-leader of Better
Together BU, got involved with the club after an on-campus
prayer service in December 2015. Soon after, Baylor got attention
for holding the prayer service for Muslims. Because of the vigil,
Better Together started a group at Baylor, and Demashkiah got
involved.
“For me, I wanted to use Better Together to educate people,”
Demashkiah said. “I think a lot of where the stigma people have
against immigrants comes from [is] lack of education- people
don’t know what exactly is going on. That was my focus- was just
to educate people and show the real issue.”

Medford, Ore., senior Micah Furlong, former co-leader of
Better Together BU and Bears Care, said the entire Bible is the
story of refugees. Furlong said people survived only due to the
toleration and kindness of those surrounding them. Furlong said
even Jesus was a refugee who fled the babies being slain under
Herod’s rule. Furlong paraphrased Exodus 22:21, saying, “Be
kind to the stranger, for you were once strangers in a strange
land.” For people seeking to be faithful to the Christian Scripture,
advocating for refugees is the only option, Furlong said.
“Immigration and diversity are key ways for Baylor to become
more Christ-like,” Furlong wrote in an email to the Lariat.
“Compassion cannot be developed in a bubble.”
Throughout the past year, Better Together BU has been
active on and around campus to spread its message and support
refugees. In November, there was a concert at Common Grounds
to raise money for refugees. Better Together BU partnered with
Bears Care to have a band at Common Grounds that performed
for free, but there was a $4 entry fee for people to come in and
listen. People who came to support also made donations, and
Better Together BU members wore shirts that said, “We Support
Refugees.”
Niazi said they also wore the shirts to class the day of the
concert, and it was interesting to see the way people looked at her

Courtesy Photo

CAMPUS GATHERING Better Together BU partnered with the Baylor Democrats to hold a prayer vigil for refugees on March 22 in
front of the Bobo Spiritual Life Center. The organization focuses on giving students the opportunity to share their cultures in a safe
space, as well as bringing positive awareness to issues involving the current global refugee crisis.

Courtesy Photo

PRAYER TAGS During a Better
Together BU prayer vigil, Baylor
students had the opportunity to
write out prayers for refugees
around the world and hang them
as colorful tags in front of the
Bobo Spiritual Life Center.

differently. Niazi also said when someone wears a shirt like that,
it’s making a political statement and opening that person up for
dialogue.
“I am a first generation American, and I am passionate,” Niazi
said. “I invite people to talk to me about it because I want to open
their minds to this. too. The efforts with the concert were to create
awareness so people know who the refugees are, what this is and
how you can help.”
Last semester, Better Together BU also got an opportunity to
be the first to see a new exhibit at the Mayborn Museum Complex
that displayed all different types of religions. The organization got
the opportunity to go through and see the exhibit then sleep at
the Mayborn Museum for a lock-in. The group also watched a
movie about three different women: one was Jewish, one was
Christian and one was Muslim. The movie placed an emphasis on
the importance of understanding the others. Niazi said this was
important for Better Together BU because a big misunderstanding
is that all refugees are Muslim, when there are, in fact, refugees
of all religions.
Demashkiah said because of everything happening in the
news, this semester has focused a lot more on immigration
through various speakers’ visits to bring attention to these issues
to campus. There was also a prayer vigil in March that aimed to
bring positive awareness to the Baylor sanctuary petition and
immigration issues in the United States.
“Immigration was always a thing we focused on, but this year it
was major, as most of our event revolved around it,” Demashkiah
said. “You really can’t get away from it, with Trump in the news
and all that. So we decided this is what we need to speak on.”

4

A Million Miles Among Us
Monday, April 10, 2017

Deeply rooted
Ballet Folklorico shows love for Hispanic heritage through dance
KAITLYN DEHAVEN
A&L Editor
El Folklorico las Estrellas de Waco is
a nonprofit organization that focuses on
keeping Hispanic culture alive through the art
of dance.
Mary Lou Pesina, the director of el
Folklorico las Estrellas de Waco, shared that
the company was originally created in fall 1998
to encourage the appreciation of Hispanic
culture. The dancers’ ages range from 7 to as
old as their feet can keep dancing, Mary Lou
Pesina said. The dancers all share a passion for
dancing and keeping Hispanic culture alive,
and they perform authentic dances from each
of the states of Mexico.
“We have tried to keep our dances and
costumes as original as possible to reflect the
true music and dances from each state,” Mary
Lou said.
Alicia Pesina, instructor of Ballet Folklorico
and daughter of Mary Lou, has been leading
the Folklorico since 1998. She said that the
entire company works together on a volunteer

basis, and the company is a labor of love for
their country and their heritage.
“Keeping our culture
alive and showing
everyone that we
should never be
e mb a r r a s s e d
or ashamed
of where our
ancestors
came from
is my goal.”
Alicia said.
“In a time
w h e r e
we
are
chastised
for
our
heritage,
where
many
of our friends
and their family feel
threatened, I just want to
show that we are not afraid of
our Mexican roots.”
McGregor resident Nichole Jaimen has

four children who all participate in the
Folklorico as dancers. Jaimen
said that this is their
second year dancing,
and the children
have had fun
and built their
conf idence
in dancing,
while also
getting
to learn
m o r e
a b o u t
t h e i r
f a t h e r ’s
heritage.
“ T h e
Courtesy Art
reason
we
got involved
is because our
cousin’s daughters
perform at a Folklorico
in Fort Worth, and we
became really interested in it. My
husband really liked it,” Jaimen said. “He

really likes the tradition and his culture; he
takes pride in it.”
Jaimen also shared that the children have
a wide variety of opportunities to perform
throughout the year, sometimes multiple
times in one weekend, which gives the siblings
a lot of bonding time.
“They’re so funny — sometimes they get
along and sometimes they don’t,” Jaimen said.
“But whenever they’re at practices and dances,
they’re really supportive of each other, and
their sibling bond is strong.”
The passion the dancers have for showing
appreciation for their culture and sharing
authentic Hispanic culture through dancing
and costumes is powerful, and the group
continues to travel and show others the vitality
of their company any chance they have.
Alicia said one of the organization’s goals
is to stay as authentic and true to Hispanic
culture as possible, and that is what keeps her
motivated.
“This is where my passion is derived from,”
Alicia said. “I love my heritage, I love my
beautiful culture and I love expressing it in the
form of Ballet Folklorico.”

Courtesy Art

A Million Miles Among Us

Monday, April 10, 2017

5

Students find second home in Waco
DIDI MARTINEZ
Digital Managing Editor
Salvador, Brazil, freshman Joao Moraes was
playing the violin in his room when his father
gave him an ultimatum: learn English or say
goodbye to music lessons.
“I started learning English when I was 12,”
Moraes said. “I didn’t want to learn English at
all. But my father pushed me to learn English
just to get a better job and stuff.”
Moraes, whose full name is Joao Pedro Costa
Grillo Moraes, said he went to a three-hour
class twice a week for four and a half years to
learn English. Chewing on a slice of dining hall
pizza while wearing a Baylor pullover, Moraes
admits he had never heard of the university
until his sophomore year of high school. At
the suggestion of his academic counselor, he
explored the possibility of moving to Waco.
“I was thinking of applying to an Ivy League
college,” Moraes said, “but then [my academic
counselor] talked to me and said, ‘I realize that
your faith is very important to you, so why don’t
you consider a Christian school?’ And I was
like, ‘Yes, why not?’”
Nearly three years later, Moraes has found
home in North Russell Hall as part of the Baylor
& Beyond LLC, where he lives alongside other
international students and globally-minded
individuals. It was at the front desk of North
Russell that he met his friend and community
leader junior Jess Schurz, who would exchange
stories with him about their first football game
and classes.
Schurz was born overseas in South Africa
and moved to Zambia at age 8. Her American
parents are pastors and run a Bible school in
Africa. With extended family and friends an
ocean away, Schurz said she came back to the
United States every summer, but her freshman
year of college was the first time she lived
within the country. Immediately, she was able to
point out ways the United States differed from
Zambia.
“One of the main things I noticed is just
how distracted we are in America,” Schurz
said. “There is a lot more that competes for our
attention. [In Zambia] there’s less distractions.
It’s a more peaceful atmosphere; it’s a slower
pace.”
Back in Zambia, people run on what she
jokes is “Zambian time” — where being late 30
minutes to an hour is the norm.
By growing up in another country, Schurz

In Fall 2016,
Baylor had a total
enrollment of
283 undergrad
students from
China, six
undergrad
students from
Brazil and seven
undergrad
students from
South Africa.
Illustration by Didi Martinez | Digital Managing Editor

Baylor University attracts students from all over the world. Pictured from left to right are Salvador,
Brazil, freshman Joao Moraes with his girlfriend, Jemima, junior Jess Schurz who was born in
South Africa but grew up in Zambia and Beijing, China, freshman Savina Chen.

is able to better understand
of belongings and made
her international peers as
the trip from Beijing,
a community leader and
China, to Texas. She lived
see the initial discomfort
out her first semester at
that comes with starting
Heritage House in North
something new.
Village, where she said it
“I think our job toward
was hard to connect with
them is the same as our
her roommates.
American residents in that
“Because
I
did
we want them to find a
not grow up here, I
home at Baylor,” Schurz
sometimes found it a
said. “I think it’s just asking
little bit hard to have
Jess Schurz | South
more questions, being more
the same topic as them,”
Africa Junior
open-minded, being more
Chen said. “Because
sensitive. Just because the
they are so friendly,
adjustment is so much
sometimes we ate at
bigger.”
Penland or something
For freshman Savina Chen, getting to know together. But if you talk for a long time, maybe
people was one of the biggest obstacles she had you will feel embarrassed because … no same
to face. This past fall, Chen packed two bags full topic.”

“One of the main
things I noticed
is just how
distracted we are
in America.”

Gradually, Chen said she was able to make
friends through her classes and organizations.
Most notably, she said, are her friends from the
Asian Ministry InterVarsity who helped her
discern a relationship with God.
“In China, we do not know something about
God,” said Chen, who grew up as an atheist.
“It means nothing because in my country they
taught me we need to believe in science. At first,
I thought that religion or the Bible is ridiculous
because there are some things that are contrast
to science. I just thought, ‘It can’t happen. It’s
not the real thing,’ but when I studied for a long
time, I think my mind changed a little bit and
then changed more and more.”
With so much newness around her, Chen
said she often finds herself missing aspects of
her life back home.
“I really miss the food because it’s so
different,” Chen said. “I do not like the food in
here, and sometimes I try to make the Chinese
food, but my roommate, she really does not like
that. She cannot bear the smell or something
else because it’s so different.”

6

A Million Miles Among Us
Monday, April 10, 2017

Waco schools support immigrant students
KALYN STORY
Staff Writer
Waco Independent School District (Waco
ISD) is made up of almost 90 percent students of
color, 57 percent of which are Hispanic students.
In 2014, the Waco Tribune-Herald reported
that Waco ISD had a 14 percent increase in the
number of non-English-speaking students since
the 2009-10 school year. This was almost double
the state’s non-English-speaking residents
growth, which had a 7.5 percent increase within
the same time.
Of the non-English-speaking students
currently enrolled in Waco ISD, 99 percent
speak Spanish. The district had 13,125 nonEnglish-speaking students enroll between the
2009-10 school year and 2013-14 school year,
with the majority of those students entering
preschool.
Bruce Gietzen, director of communications

k

Waco ISD had a 14 percent
increase in the number of
non-English-speaking students
from 2009 to 2014.
for Waco ISD, said the district knows that nonEnglish-speaking students and their families
and students who are immigrants can need
specific resources. Gietzen said the school does
its best to provide them with what they need
or get them in touch with organizations in and
around Waco which can help them.
“We love all our students and wish we could
provide everything they need,” Gietzen said.
“We do have outreach programs, but for more
serious matters we do our best to connect
students and their families to outside resources
like Mission Waco, Greater Waco Legal Services
and Lone Star Legal Aid.”
Greater Waco Legal Services founder Kent
McKeever served as the attorney-director of
Mission Waco Legal Services from 2012-16
before opening Greater Waco Legal Services
earlier this year.
“We started Greater Waco Legal Services
because of the unmet legal needs in the greater

Of the non-English-speaking
students currently enrolled in
Waco ISD, 99 percent speak
Spanish.
Waco-McLennan County area,” McKeever said.
“After four and a half years working at Mission
Waco running the legal services program, we
knew that we needed to expand our services to
meet the high demand in our community. The
best structure for us to build our capacity was
as an independent nonprofit, through which we
can focus our structure on growing legal service
delivery for our community.”
Greater Waco Legal Services offers direct
representation, monthly free legal advice clinics,
relational referrals, social services support,
community legal empowerment workshops,
and policy advocacy, McKeever said.
McKeever said they have seen a recent
increase in immigration cases, saying that about
90 percent of current clients are immigrationrelated cases. However, over the past four and a
half years, McKeever estimated clients breaking
down to about 60 percent immigration, 30
percent housing (landlord-tenant, property
tax and title issues, etc.), and 10 percent legal
barriers to employment and miscellaneous.

McKeever said immigration law is an
extremely complicated area of law. In his
experience, he said it is a rare occasion
when a person can successfully navigate the
immigration process entirely on their own.
“Students and their families need to have an
advocate – someone who won’t take advantage
of them – someone who will shoot straight with
them and someone they can trust to have their
backs when necessary,” McKeever said.

13,125
Non-English-speaking
students enrolled in Waco ISD
between the 2009-10 school
year and 2013-14 school year.
Specifically, McKeever said Waco ISD
students and their families need access to an
experienced immigration lawyer, so they will
not be tempted to consult with the “notaries”
or “immigration consultants” in the Waco
area, terms that have no legal definition.
McKeever said he has seen some “notaries”
and “consultants” break the law by providing

immigration legal services while charging fees to
the immigrant families. Some have even messed
up the cases and lives of clients, McKeever said.
“It is important that Greater Waco Legal
Services is here to provide a competent, affordable
resource to our immigrant community. It is also
vital that immigrants and their families know
their rights and how to enforce them, as well as
prepare themselves for the worst case scenarios
if something bad happens,” McKeever said. “An
educated and empowered community can make
a huge difference in times like these.”
Lone Star Legal Services is another legal
resource Waco ISD suggests students and
families with immigration law concerns contact.
Lone Star Legal Aid is a nonprofit law firm
that provides free civil legal help to low-income
families. The firm is based out of Houston but
has 12 remote branches, including one in Waco,
according to its website.
Waco ISD’s website also lists Baylor Law
School’s free Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA) clinic as a resource they
suggest students who qualify utilize.
The Law School’s clinic helps people who
were brought to the United States illegally as
a child to apply for DACA cards, which allow
them to stay in the United States for a two year
period without fear of deportation and get a
worker authorization.
Links to all of these resources and others can
be found on Waco ISD’s outreach website.

Greater Waco Legal Services
Case Breakdown
10%

Legal barriers to employment and
miscellaneous

30%
Housing (landlord-tenant,
property tax and title issues, etc.)

60%
Immigration

Graphics by McKenna Middleton | News Editor

A Million Miles Among Us

Monday, April 10, 2017

7

Waco ISD
Demographic Composition

90 percent
students of color

57 percent
Hispanic
students

10 percent
white, other
students

Liesje Powers | Photo Editor

ELEMENTARY West Avenue Elementary School consists of 34.9 percent African-American
students, 61.3 percent Hispanic students and 3.8 percent white and other students.

Several religious communities
around Waco have had to figure
out where they stand on recent
controversial
topics
such
as
immigration and sanctuary church
status.
The Lariat reached out to The
Islamic Center of Waco, First
United Methodist Church of Waco,
University Baptist Church, First
Baptist Church Waco and St. Louis
Catholic Church about these topics.
Some revealed their approach on
immigration, their views on recent
travel bans and how their faith
aligns with their views while others
declined to comment.
Jay Netherton, director of
communication of First Baptist
Church Waco, located on 500
Webster Ave., sent on email statement
on behalf of the community at First
Baptist. Netherton first thanked
The Lariat for reaching out for an
interview, then he expressed the
church’s support of the Hispanic
community in Waco.
“We love and deeply care about
our Hispanic brothers and sisters,”
Netherton wrote.

Netherton described the church’s
role in hosting “an information/
educational event” for the Hispanic
community about rights and current
immigration status. In the short
email, Netherton also expressed that
First Baptist has no current stance or
comment on the “sanctuary issue.”
Bill Al, alumnus of Baylor and
head of the personal training division
of the Baylor Wellness Department,
spoke on behalf of The Islamic Center
of Waco, located at 2725 Benton
Drive. Al spoke about the Muslim
community in Waco as well as its
stance on immigration and sanctuary
church status.
The Islamic Church of Waco was
founded in 1987 by Al Siddiq, father
of Bill Al, for the approximately 300
Muslims living in Waco. Bill Al said
the center’s relationship with the
community is great.
“We are involved in the Greater
Waco Interfaith Conference,” Al said.
“It’s a conference of a lot of Christian
churches, Jewish synagogues here
and various other religions. We all
get together, we do multiple events.
We do Meals on Wheels, we sponsor
Habitat for Humanity—we are
involved quite a bit.”
Al said much of the general

population does not know about
the Islamic Center despite its
involvement in the community.
“My father has spoken to over 62
churches since 9/11,” Al said. “We’ve
engaged in multiple discussions with
the Baylor clergy. Baylor religion
classes—the world religion courses,
actually, bring their students out
here to the mosque several times
throughout the semester to get a feel
for what a mosque is.”
Al said he has seen how the
immigration and travel bans have
effected personal friends who
aren’t Muslim. Al said that, at first,
they were worried about backlash
after President Trump took office.
However, the Islamic Center of Waco
received an outpouring of support in
the form of flowers and cards after
the first travel ban. Cards are still
hanging on the wall of the main wall
of the Islamic Center of Waco.
“It was beautiful,” Al said. “A lot
of the local communities coming
together to say they support us. A
lot of the churches, synagogues, the
Hispanic community—we got a lot of
outpouring from them.”
Al said the Islamic Center of
Waco would not be a sanctuary for
undocumented immigrants facing

deportation. Al described it as a “political
thing” that the center is staying out of.
Al said he hopes that in the future more
Muslims get involved in their communities to
change perceptions and attitudes.
Father John Guzaldo, pastor at St. Louis
Catholic Church of Waco, located on 2001
N 25th Street, spoke about the “general fear”
and tension among his congregation of many
undocumented immigrants.
“There are members of our youth group
who are always living in fear that their parents
will be deported,” Guzaldo said.
Guzaldo said St. Louis Catholic Church
tells members who are undocumented to
follow the process of documentation and to not
get in trouble with the law. However, Guzaldo
said some people practicing the Catholic faith
who came from South America and Central
America are not interested in becoming
legalized citizens.
“They like living in Mexico,” Guzaldo said.
“They come up here to make money and go
back—or they send money.”
For those living in a fear of deportation,
Guzaldo said they try to alleviate fear through
prayer and closeness for God. St. Louis
Catholic Church also offers English classes for
anyone wanting to learn the laws of the United
States.
Guzaldo said although the entire Bible is
welcoming of the foreigner, there is no easy
answer for immigration.
“If I was poor and lived in Guatemala, I
would try to get over here,” Guzaldo said.
St. Louis Catholic Church is not a sanctuary
church, but Guzaldo said decisions would be
made on a case-by-case basis. Guzaldo went
on to say that the most difficult task churches
face is how to handle, not only immigration,
but illegal immigration.
“I visited a man in prison who was being
deported because [he] committed felonies,”
Guzaldo said. “I asked him, ‘What are you
going to do when you get home?’ and he
said, ‘I’ll be back.’ The question is, how do we
minster to them? If you come back here, make
sure you behave yourself.”
St. Louis Catholic Church has mass in both
English and Spanish. Father Guzaldo said that
it is ultimately that it is celebrations that bring
people together.
Toph Whisnant, the community pastor of
University Baptist Church, located on 1701
Dutton Ave., spoke on behalf of University
Baptist Church and declined to comment on
these issues.
Molly Simpson and Brandon Frenzel,
associate pastors at First United Methodist
Church of Waco, located on 1409 Cobbs Drive,
spoke on behalf of First United Methodist
about their congregation and their roles as
pastors over recent months.

9

“As pastors, this is an age-old dilemma
of a pastors, we find ourselves, sometimes,
disappointed in our parishioners— in our
congregation,” Frenzel said. “Sometimes,
culture and comfort and politics almost
inform theology, and we really hope that it is
the other way around.”
First United Methodist Church’s response
to President Donald Trump’s executive orders
on immigration follow the response of the
United Methodist Bishops of the State of
Texas in an open letter to other Methodist
churches in Texas. clarify this letter a bit more
and its relationship to FUMC
“Accordingly, we call upon President
Trump, Governor Abbott and the leaders
of our nation and state to seek a more
compassionate response to immigrants and
refugees,” the letter stated.
Within the last couple of months, both
Simpson and Frenzel said they have found
themselves becoming better facilitators during
controversial conversations about topics such
as immigration and how they offer scripture
rather than handing out their perspectives.
Penelope Shirey | Lariat Photographer
“I find scripture much more compelling
than some person’s argument for or against
something,” Simpson said.
Simpson and Frenzel spoke about the
Bible’s many narratives of hospitality and how
the simplicity of these stories does not equip
us with all the answers to complicated social
issues. Simpson said how these hospitality
narratives are “foundational” to recognizing
that we all children of God. Brandon went
on to explain that when Jesus said love your
neighbor, he meant everyone.
“For us, in a sense, the Gospel is radical,”
Frenzel said. “There is nothing commonplace
about it. It’s radical love; it’s radical grace. We
believe that we offer grace and hope to all
people.”
Frenzel explained how complicated their
role as pastors is because they are trying to
speak to everyone. Both pastors have seen how
their congregation has become more aware of
how diverse the political views are among each
other.
“Several months ago, I think they would
have all thought, ‘We all think the same thing,
we all feel the same and we would all vote the
same way,’” Simpson said.
First United Methodist Church is not a
sanctuary church, but Frenzel and Simpson
said the situation as not risen for a decision
to be made about sanctuary church status.
Simpson said it would be on a case-by-case
basis, and it is a decision that would have to
include the entire church. Simpson and Frenzel
Jessica Hubble | Lariat Photographer
went on to agree on their hopes for the future.
“Our city, our nation and our world will (Far left) The building of St. Louis Catholic Church stands tall. (Top left) A Sunday church service is held at First United
Methodist
Waco.
(Top
right)
Stained
glass
windows
line
the
chapel
of
St.
Louis
Catholic
Church. (Bottom right) Light
look more like the kingdom of God,” Simpson
shines through the windows at First Baptist Church.
said. “It is a big ask and it takes a lot of work.”

10

A Million Miles Among Us
Monday, April 10, 2017

A different perspective
Couple shares their experiences, lives as immigrants in Waco
RYLEE SEAVERS
Staff Writer
On March 30, 2011, Hope and Naz Mustakim were
abruptly woken from sleep at 7 a.m. by four armed
federal agents.
They were told that Naz’s green card had been
revoked, and he was being taken into custody. He was
held at a detention center in South Texas for 10 months
and was not eligible for bail.
Naz moved to the United States from Singapore
with his family when he was 13. He has always been a
legal permanent resident, but on March 30, some bad
decisions he had made as a teenager—and already paid
the price for—caused a new set of problems.
Hope detailed on their website, “Free Naz,” that as
a young adult, Naz struggled with substance abuse and
received treatment at Mission Waco’s Manna House.
In 2007, he faced trial for his substance abuse arrests
and was advised to plead guilty, not knowing that it
would lead to his detainment four years later. The plea
violated the terms of his green card and was classified as
an aggravated felony under immigration court, making
him subject to immediate deportation.
“It was traumatic to have your spouse just yanked
away from you so unexpectedly,” Hope said. “You’re
woken up from sleep, and they are taken away.”
Fast forward to 2017, and Naz has been free for five
years. The Mustakims live in an “intentionally diverse
Christian community” in Waco at a time of high racial
tension throughout the nation.
Hope said the diversity in Waco crosses racial,
familial and socioeconomic lines. All of these have been
woven into a varied community filled with people who
have all been shaped by their unique experiences, she
said.
“That’s what we find makes Waco so endearing and
so charming and special is not that it’s perfect or fancy
or glamorous but that it’s got heart and soul,” Hope said.
Hope moved to Texas in 2007, and Naz grew up in
a Muslim family but converted to Christianity when he
was 26. Naz said that the hardest part about moving to
the United States was fitting in with his classmates. The
prominence of sports in American culture was difficult
for him to adjust to, but “the food was OK,” he said.
Now, Naz works as the food services coordinator
for the Family Abuse Center, and Hope is heavily
involved with the Waco Immigrants Alliance, which
seeks to make Waco a welcoming community for
immigrants, and serves on the board of Grassroots
Leadership in Austin. Through their own experiences

with immigration, they said they have realized the
importance of standing in solidarity with others and
have had countless opportunities to do so recently.
“As soon as it was announced, we went to [Dallas/
Fort Worth International Airport],” Hope said of the
first travel ban announced by the White House on Jan.
27.
Hope said they could not let their Muslim brothers
and sisters believe that there was not a single Christian
family that would stand with them and say, “this is
wrong.”
“I still have a heart for those Muslim people and
[know] what it is that they are going through, because I
was one of them,” Naz said.
Hope said there is an unmistakable feeling when
you are standing with other people that you are on the
right side of history. Much of the Mustakims’ family is
Muslim, so they said they know that being a Muslim
does not make a person a terrorist, rather it makes them
peaceful, hospitable and kind.
“Even Christianity can be spun in a way that is
violent, and historically we’ve seen that, so it’s just the
same way we can pick apart the Quran is the same way
we can do the Bible,” Hope said.
Naz’s Muslim background serves as a bridge,
they said. When they went to Dallas/Fort Worth
International Airport to protest, many of the Muslim
women recognized their last name.
The United States is seen as a melting pot, which has
always been seen as a strength, Hope said. Communities
that highlight people’s differences and uniqueness are
communities that thrive, she said, because it doesn’t
benefit anyone if everyone is the same.
Hope encouraged students who are feeling isolated
during this time to find a place where they feel safe and
to share their story. Sometimes, hearing that there are
actual people affected by these policies is the only thing
that can change a person’s perspective, she said.
“They are not alone because it’s always hard when
you think that you are isolated, that you are the only one
that is affected,” Naz said, “but there are other people
that are affected [and] even those who are not directly
affected by the ban, we are standing with them.”
Hope said there are 92 verses in the Bible that
address the “foreigner,” “alien” or the “sojourner.”
“For Waco to not be welcoming, it implies such
negative sense, atmosphere, so it’s important for Waco
to be welcoming because, for us, that’s what makes
Waco—to be able to accept other people who are
different from us,” Naz said.
Courtesy Art

A Million Miles Among Us

Monday, April 10, 2017

11

Baylor Law helps immigrants in need
KALYN STORY
Staff Writer
In 2012, then-President Barack Obama
signed an executive order called Deferred
Action for Childhood Arrivals, known as
DACA.
It
meant
that
children who were
brought to America
illegally could apply
for a DACA card that
allowed them to stay in
the United States for a
two-year period and get
a worker authorization.
In response to this
policy change, Baylor
Hernández
Law School professor
Laura Hernández, with
the help of a student,
started the Baylor Law School Immigration
Clinic.
“We knew there would be lots and lots of
people in the Waco area who would qualify for
a DACA card, but we also knew the application
can be daunting and complicated,” Hernández
said. “We didn’t want anyone who qualified for

this to not receive it because they didn’t know
how to apply.”
The clinic assisted Waco-area residents
in applying for DACA cards, and in 2012, it
assisted with over 300 applications.
In 2012, The Pew Hispanic Center estimated
that the deferment program could affect 1.7
million unauthorized immigrants throughout
the United States and immediately affects more
than 150,000 unauthorized immigrants in
Texas.
The clinic operates every other academic
quarter and in 2014 added assistance for people
applying to renew their DACA cards as well as
apply for new ones.
The student who approached Hernández
with the idea for the clinic is Baylor aluma Anali
Gatlin.
Gatlin said that being the daughter of a South
American immigrant influenced her opinions
on immigration and has kept immigration
issues close to her heart as she grew up.
“My mom felt like a foreigner for a long
time after she came here,” Gatlin said. “I saw her
struggles and could only imagine the struggles
of children of undocumented immigrants.”
Gatlin said that although she didn’t
originally plan on going to law school, she has
always had a heart for service and
helping people.
After graduating from Baylor in
2007 with a degree in anthropology,
Spanish and gender studies, Gatlin
worked with Habitat for Humanity

in Waco and worked as a director of a homeless
ministry in Chicago.
In 2012, Gatlin returned to Waco to attend
Baylor Law School. She carried her heart for
immigrants with her, and when President
Obama signed DACA, she said she knew she
wanted to help people gain access to resources
available to them.
“There weren’t a lot of opportunities for law
students here to have direct experience working
with immigration law, so I thought this would be
a great opportunity to help the community and
help the law students,”
Gatlin said.
Gatlin
also
attributed her passion
for helping immigrants
to growing up in a
small, bilingual church
in Waco.
“I grew up hearing
the stories of struggles
of immigrants,” Gatlin
said. “I feel it is my
Gatlin
responsibility
as
a
Christian to help those
in my community and
Baylor’s as well, as a Christian university, to
help the immigrants in our community. That is
exactly what Baylor is doing through this clinic.”
Hernández said students in the clinic can
gain direct experience by working with the
clients under her supervision.
She said many law students, as well as

undergraduate students from a wide range of
majors, help with the project.
“It is a great opportunity for everyone
involved,” Hernández said. “We have Spanish
majors helping translate, social work students
seeing the kind of work they can go into in
the real world, as well as many other majors
volunteering.”
Hernández stressed that DACA depends
on who is president, and she does not know
what the future of DACA will look like under
President Donald Trump.
Hernández said the clinic is still aiding
people in the renewal of their DACA
applications but advises immigrants to not start
new applications.
“President Obama promised not to share
the applicant’s information with immigration
enforcement, but we don’t know what President
Trump is going to do,” Hernández said. “Trump
hasn’t specifically said anything about this
executive order, and he kind of does things his
own way which is kind of scary, so I don’t know
what is going to happen.”
Hernández said if Trump gets rid of the
DACA program, she would like to start a clinic
helping immigrants with their naturalization
papers.

Michael Bararea / Wikimedia

12

A Million Miles Among Us
Monday, April 10, 2017

Liesje Powers | Photo editor

Serving culture one plate at a time
GENESIS LARIN
Assistant News Editor
One of the simplest ways to share one’s culture with others
is through food. Waco is home to many small businesses that
have flourished using traditional and authentic recipes, including
Taqueria Zacatecas, also known as Taco Z.
Jose and Griselda Ramirez are the owners of Taqueria
Zacatecas and are proud to have seen their restaurant grow and
gain success over the 22 years since its opening.
“[The business] wasn’t something I really wanted. It just fell
in my hands. My husband’s sister had three food trucks, but
they were not doing well, so she sold them, and we bought one,”
Griselda Ramirez said. “And that’s how we started. She told us
more or less how to run things, and we just went for it.”
Griselda was born and raised in Zacatecas, Mexico. The city
is the eighth largest state in Mexico and is largely an agricultural
city with a population size of about 1.5 million, according to the
Houston Institute for Culture. Griselda came to the United States
after acquiring a visa. As Griselda and her husband opened their
business, they decided to use recipes from Zacatecas and sell
snacks from Mexico to keep an authentic taste.
“[The recipes] ... we got from [Zacatecas], and we use them
here,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez said their business initially started with the food
truck, but as their clientele and the demand for their food grew,
larger space and more employees were needed.
“We first started in a truck, but it got hard carrying the
ingredients to and from. It was a lot of work,” Ramirez said. “We
only opened at nights and during weekends, but as more people
started coming, we had to extend the hours.”

There are currently 17 employees staffed, Ramirez said.
Despite the growth in staff, both Jose and Griselda continue to
go in early in the morning to prepare and marinate the meat.
Ramirez said the time and care that both she and her husband
place on the quality of their food as well as the consistency of
their flavors is what keeps customers combing back.
“No, we haven’t changed anything. I think it is because of
our client base because there are some people who will come,
and when they come back 5 years later they say [the food] still
tastes the same. That’s why they come back,” Ramirez said. “My
husband and I cook everything. Everyone helps in serving and
cutting the meat and vegetables, but cooking and preparing the
meat is done by us”

When asked about how the political climate has affected her
business, Ramirez said that she is most worried about the increase
in tariffs on imported goods from Mexico.
“I’m not sure if the changes to the border will change the price
of goods coming from Mexico, which would cause our prices to
go up and hurt our customers,” Ramirez said. “People probably
come here because the food is so affordable.”
Houston junior Bassey Ubokudom said he eats at Taco Z once
every two weeks. The low price and good tasting food is what
Ubokudom said draws appeal to the restaurant.
“They are exposing people to new culture,” Ubokudom said.
“It broadens our horizons. It helps us understand new cultures.”
Ramirez said she and her husband will continue to work hard
to satisfy customers regardless of politics.
“You keep working hard for them,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez also expressed the importance of immigrants to the
community and the country.
“I think that by working, one can achieve success. This is the
land of opportunities when one puts forth effort. I, like many
others, work hard, but those same people help you succeed
because they keep coming back,” Ramirez said.
Ramirez said she doesn’t know what the future will hold for
her business, but she and her husband plan on working as long
as they are able.
“We never thought [our business] would work out like this.
Time is letting the business unfold,” Ramirez said. “We always
keep working. You have to keep moving forward.”
*The quotations of Griselda Ramirez have been translated from
Spanish to English by the reporter.

A Million Miles Among Us

Monday, April 10, 2017

13

Mission Waco service offers migrants help
MEGAN RULE
Staff Writer
The Waco legal community gets a chance to
give back to the city through the Greater Waco
Legal Services, an independent nonprofit that
provides legal services and representation to
those who are unable to afford the services of a
private attorney.
“It came out of a desire to really serve the
community and really address these gaps in
access to justice that plague our entire nation
and all of our communities,” Kent McKeever,
executive director of Greater Waco Legal
Services, said. “Just to really dig in deep to a
community and really listen and bend to the
needs of a community is how it started.”
Greater Waco Legal Services was born in
January of 2017 as an offspring of Mission Waco
Legal Services.
The legal services section of Mission Waco
was founded in 2012, and in January the new
part of this branch was established by McKeever
and five volunteer attorneys on the Greater
Waco Legal Services Board as an outgrowth of
Mission Waco and an opportunity to grow the
program and to provide more legal services for
the community.
“All of our clients from Mission Waco Legal
Services transferred with us, so we’ve been
continuing to represent former clients as well
as meet with a growing number of immigration
clients,” McKeever said. “In our current context,
there’s a lot of justifiable anxiety and concern, so
we’ve been meeting with a lot more immigrant
individuals and families to address their
situation and provide further legal services if we
can.”
Mainly, Greater Waco Legal Services
provides legal advice clinics, consultations,
legal representation and practice for immigrant
clients, McKeever said.
Greater Waco Legal Services also provides
advocacy for legal barriers to employment such
as driver license issues and criminal record
histories that prevent people from finding
steady employment.
McKeever said a vast majority of clients
are immigrant clients, and there has been
a significant increase in the request for
information and services with recent political
events.

There is a fee waiver, according to the
website, for those who cannot pay the nominal
fee. More information can be found online about
how to schedule a consultation appointment
and the details of receiving services.
“I hope to say the city has benefited from
competent legal representation and really
growing the access to the justice system for low
income individuals and families,” McKeever
said. “Also I think that the legal community has
another place to give back to the community
and serve us with their legal skills, and I think
that has been an important piece.”
McKeever said the process usually starts
by determining if consultation is needed for a
client, then assessing their needs and providing
services if necessary.
Michelle Tuegel, criminal defense attorney,
partner with the law firm Hunt and Tuegel and
member of the Greater Waco Legal Services
board, said as a board member she serves,
advises and assists McKeever with the legal
clinic work.
Tuegel also said a lot of the work she is doing
now with the clinic is immigration-based as that
is a high need right now.
“The legal clinic helps people with small
problems that are big in their lives,” Tuegel said.
“We do things that a lot of lawyers wouldn’t even
take a phone call for. Kent is working it out for
people who can’t afford an attorney. I’m happy
to help as much as I can.”
Tuegel said she believes the immigrants are
a part of the community, and she enjoys helping
McKeever with his work as it creates a bridge.
Many people are afraid to talk to someone
in the legal process, but Greater Waco Legal
Services allows individuals and families to come
out of the shadows and consult with an attorney
to get information, Tuegel said.
Clients that use the clinic typically have
complex issues, and Greater Waco Legal
Services allows people who aren’t citizens to
figure out a way of legally getting through the
system, Tuegel said.
“Our immigrant community is vital to the
prosperity of Waco,” McKeever said. “I think
that they provide a labor force that is essential
to our economy, and the immigrant community
also provides a cultural piece and an aspect of
diversity that is a beautiful piece of who we are
as Waco.”

Liesje Powers | Photo Editor

GOOD PRICES, GOOD FOOD Jubilee Market is part of Mission Waco and serves as an outlet for
Waco citizens living in a“food desert,” where they lack the ability to buy fresh, healthy foods.

Liesje Powers | Photo Editor

A SAFE HAVEN Mission Waco’s Center for Urban Ministries is only a short drive from the new
office for Greater Waco Legal Services and is a branch of Mission Waco’s outreach program.

14

A Million Miles Among Us
Monday, April 10, 2017

Caribbean students talk life in America
JOY MOTON
Staff Writer
Every year, thousands of people leave the
clear water and sandy beaches of the Caribbean
islands to enter America.
Houston junior Darnelle DesVignes is from
Trinidad and Tobago, an island off the coast of
Venezuela. DesVignes said the Caribbean is just
a melting pot of different cultures.
“Their festivals, food, clothes, music is all a
collaboration of different cultures,” DesVignes
said.
DesVignes described Trinidad and Tobago
as a place where people are more focused on
their similarities than their differences. Coming
to America was a culture shock for her because
America was described as a big melting pot and,
coming from another melting pot, she said she
thought it would be the same.
“In Trinidad, we have people who are
Chinese, black, Spanish, French, Indian, and
we don’t categorize ourselves into different
categories-you are just Trinidadian,” DesVignes
said. “In America, you are black or you’re white.
There’s no mixing of different cultures-there’s
just separation.”

“There is no cookie
cutter layout for what
an American should
look like, believe in or
act upon.”
Darnelle DesVignes | Houston
Junior, originally from Trinidad
and Tobago

New York junior Elissa Arthur, originally
from Trinidad and Tobago, is a community
leader in North Russell Hall. She said being a
community leader at Baylor has good and bad
to it. A downside has been dealing with people
who do not understand what it means to be
Trinidadian. She said it can be hard to explain
a culture people have not been very exposed to.
“I’ve struggled so much with expressing
my culture and struggling with making people

Photos courtesy of Shane Stanislaus

TROPICAL LIVING Residents of the Caribbean, which includes Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, live life in a tropical setting due to living on an
island.

understand who I am as a Trinidadian that I’ve
kind of molded my events to show who I am,”
Arthur said.
Last year, Arthur hosted events where she
taught her residents how to cook jerk chicken
and hosted a game where she spoke in an accent
and residents had to figure out what she was
saying.
“I think that allowed the other community
leaders on my staff and residents to say, ‘Oh
being Trinidadian is cool, I want to learn about
Elissa’s culture.’ It also exposed them to who
I was, so it made me easier to understand,”
Arthur said.
Baylor Alumna and Miss Green and Gold
2017 Amanda Plummer is from Jamaica and
appreciates the way people from the country
are family oriented and respectful of each other.
Although she has family that is still in Jamaica,

she said she tries to view both sides of the
spectrum where immigration is concerned.
“I understand the side of wanting to come
here for freedom and having better opportunities
than the country that you currently reside in,
but I also understand the side of people coming
illegally and all the negative things that happen
with that,” Plummer said.
Plummer said there is nothing wrong with
people wanting to emigrate to another country
until they go about it the wrong way. Plummer
believes that immigration is an issue because it
is not being dealt with correctly.
“The issue is not that people are or that we
need to get them out, it’s the process of how
it’s done, and if we do want them to leave, that
process needs to be correct too,” Plummer said.
Plummer said America is seen as land of the
free, but people also do not realize the amount

of chaos that comes with that freedom.
“When you have so many people without
rules and so many people from different
cultures coming to this place where they feel like
they can do what they want, then it calls for this
melting pot of craziness,” Plummer said.
DesVignes said immigration is a good thing
because it has the power to unify and diversify a
country at the same time. She said preventing it
would take away the concept of America as the
melting pot.
“There is no cookie cutter layout for what
an American should look like, believe in or act
upon. There is no blueprint of what America
should look like. Immigration reform looks
like removing the bans and walls that separate
us from other countries so that we may hear
and see their struggles and identify them as our
own,” DesVignes said.

A Million Miles Among Us

Monday, April 10, 2017

15

A look across the sea
African students reflect on experience with immigration policy
JOY MOTON
Staff Writer
Baylor is home to a diverse
group of students from the various
countries of Africa. Though
traveling from the same continent,
each student’s experience at Baylor
has been different and has affected
their views on global immigration
as well as diversity at Baylor.
Onose Aigbe is from Nigeria
and said America is very different
from her country. She described a
society where everyone is expected
to bow down to elders and use
their right hand for everything.
Everyone is more in tune with each
other, Aigbe said.
Aigbe said she appreciates
the various people she has met
at Baylor as well as others from
various states she has lived in.
She said she came to America for
the quality and stability of the
education. Aigbe said she would
be hurt if immigration were
prohibited.
“If immigration were taken
away as a whole, I would feel hurt.
I feel that it’s kind of selfish since
America was built on people from
different countries,” Aigbe said.
Berachah Kwarteng-Siaw is
from Ghana and proud of the
fact that his country was the
first African country to gain
independence.
Kwarteng-Siaw said he thinks
America is what it is now because
of immigration. He believes that

the different cultures that make up
America is what makes it so great.
Kwarteng-Siaw
said
that
being from Ghana, there were
many people who saw coming
to America as an opportunity
to give themselves a better life.
Even though people are willing to
do almost anything to gain that

“If immigration
were taken away
as a whole, I would
feel hurt. I feel that
it’s kind of selfish
since America was
built on people from
different countries.”
Onose Aigbe
Houston sophomore

opportunity, Kwarteng-Siaw said
he feels that everyone should not
be afforded that chance.
“Some people won’t survive
here, while others would be a
nuisance to society. So, the best
bet I feel is to do what’s being
done right now where there is
a background check on people
wanting to come into this country

to see if they will survive or benefit
it,” Kwarteng-Siaw said.
Charlz Bizong Jr. from
Cameroon said he believes America
is a great place to immigrate to
because he has seen what people
will go through to have the
opportunity to live in America. He
said that while it is a great place to
immigrate to, people tend to forget
that it is an opportunity.
“I feel like as Americans, we
don’t understand the privilege we
have to be here. We tend to feel
like we deserve to be here, thus
squandering the privilege,” Bizong
said.
Kwarteng-Siaw said he thinks
the president’s immigration reform
is an overreaction out of fear of
radical Islamic terrorists.
“Obviously, not all of the
Muslims in the countries that are
banned are radical,” Kwarteng-Siaw
said. “In banning all of them, he’s
depriving them of an opportunity
to better their lives. In addition,
there are radical Islamic terrorists
all of the world, so banning these
countries wouldn’t particularly
solve this problem.”
Kwarteng-Siaw said he hopes
the president’s ban will be rejected,
and the government can seek better
solutions to enact change.
“An actual bipartisan committee
can come together, sit down and
discuss sensible ways to protect
the people of the United States of
America from the radical Islamic
terrorists,” Kwarteng-Siaw said